Vista LDS ward to host Pioneer Day

A handcart trek, a Nauvoo Temple replica and pioneer-era
activities will be the highlights of the fifth annual Pioneer Day
celebration by the Vista 4th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints on July 18.

Officially celebrated on July 24, Pioneer Day commemorates the
first Mormon pioneers who journeyed from Nauvoo, Ill., in 1846 to
the Salt Lake Valley in Utah to escape religious persecution.

The Mormon religion was founded in 1830 by the prophet Joseph
Smith Jr., and his followers faced persecution and violence from
the beginning. To escape the persecution, Mormons moved from Ohio
to Missouri, where Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issued an
extermination order in 1838. He called all Mormons "enemies," and
that they must be exterminated or driven from the state.

The church followers moved on to Illinois, where they built the
city of Nauvoo in an undeveloped swamp. In 1844, Smith was
assassinated by a mob while he was incarcerated. Most Mormons
recognized Brigham Young as Smith's successor, and because violence
against the church members reached its peak in Nauvoo, the church
moved its headquarters more than 1,000 miles to the Salt Lake
Valley.

Thousands of Latter-day Saints moved their belongings by
handcart to what is now Salt Lake City in 1847. The Nauvoo Temple
was destroyed by arsonists in 1848, but has since been
reconstructed on the original site.

"Pioneer Day is to remind us of the tremendous triumph of those
who literally carried our religion across the country," said Alene
Endter, who will help run the Vista festivities.

Although it's a state holiday in Utah -- considered "a lot like
July 4," Endter said -- not all LDS wards host large
celebrations.

For the last few years, the Spanish-speaking Vista 4th Ward has
hosted the celebration that centers around a parade of homemade
handcarts, similar to the ones used by the Mormon pioneers. This
year, the English-speaking congregations in Vista are also
participating because they were "inspired by the Spanish
congregation," said Greg Conk, the event chairman. He hopes that
1,000 people will show up. About 200 people attended last year's
Pioneer Day.

The handcart trek will stretch from one LDS church at 1310
Foothill Drive to another at 451 W. Bobier Drive, about two miles.
The replica of the Nauvoo Temple, which will be 32 feet by 20 feet,
will be placed near the Foothill building to symbolize how the
pioneers left behind the temple to begin the Mormon Trail.

The activities will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Besides
dressing in pioneer-era clothing, including bonnets and
floor-length dresses, the celebration will include demonstrations
of metal welding, goat milking, butter churning, quilting, planting
a garden and preserving food, said Elaine Cole, the director of
public affairs for the church. There will also be games such as
sack races and "hoop and stick," as well as exhibits such as
pioneer biographies and temple-themed art.

"The celebration will give us an opportunity to take a closer
look and experience the lifestyle of the pioneers," Endter
said.